Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry spoke with the media on Tuesday to preview the Hokies' Week 1 matchup against South Carolina.
Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry spoke with the media on Tuesday to preview the Hokies’ Week 1 matchup against South Carolina. The two teams will meet on Sunday in Atlanta with kickoff at 3 p.m. on ESPN.
Here’s everything Pry had to say.
Opening statement
“I want to take a moment to send our prayers down to Coach (Travian) Robertson, South Carolina’s D-line coach. He was in a pretty bad accident. Messaged with Shane (Beamer) a few days ago. It could have cost him his life. So they’re very thankful right now that he’s in recovery. We wish him our best, and certainly to his family.
“Our team is in a good place right now. We had a great camp that was catapulted from a really good offseason with Coach (Jarrett) Ferg(uson) and his staff, and our coaches. They put the work in, and like every camp, when it comes to the end, you’re just looking forward to playing somebody else. We’ve had a lot of situational football. We’ve had a lot of ones versus ones. We’ve had a lot of ones versus twos, and we’ve had a lot of ones versus look squad. So it’s time for us to play somebody else.
“We certainly have a huge challenge with this South Carolina bunch. I’ve coached against a bunch of SEC teams in my time, and they appear to be one of the more talented ones. I would liken them to some of the LSU teams I’ve seen and some others. They’re explosive, they’re fast. They’ve got good size. It’s a very talented SEC team. But the opportunity to be on national television, the opportunity to play in an NFL Stadium at a prime time slot, the only game on. Again, I’ve said it before, that’s why guys come to Virginia Tech. So we’re excited about that. Tremendous respect for Shane Beamer and the job he’s done. He’s put together a terrific staff and recruited very well, and he has his team positioned to be top 10. So I’m thankful to the Aflac Kickoff folks, Gary Stokan and that group, for inviting us, giving us the opportunity to play in this game and to play the caliber of opponent in South Carolina.
“Also excited about Hokie Divine Deablo, who’s currently with the Falcons. He’s our honorary captain for the game, which I think is very cool, and I look forward to seeing him. And then lastly, to have Coach (Frank) Beamer and Cheryl (Beamer) be honored prior to the game. I just think that’s absolutely right. We all know what he did here in Blacksburg and at Virginia Tech. It’s pretty cool for him and his wife, and for Shane and for Virginia Tech. So I’m excited about the opportunity for us, for our team.”
Do you have any comments on Caleb Woodson’s situation or the determination of his status for the opener?
“Obviously, there’s been a lot of discussion over the last few days regarding this matter, a very serious matter. There’s certainly internal program consequences at play, measures at play. And then the university’s policy, the athletic department policies, we’re committed to seeing that out. And as far as his play this weekend, that’s yet to be determined.”
When you look at Woodson being a captain, in the fact that he’s supposed to set the example for the rest of the team, how do you address not only him, but the rest of the team, saying, “Hey, this is a matter that you really we need to be better at”?
“Yeah, we removed his captain status with the opportunity to earn it back.”
You said you feel like you guys had a really good camp. What makes you say that?What do you feel like you guys really did these last couple weeks to get better?
“Yeah, I think that’s a good question. There’s two things that stick out to me. It’s development of some key guys that you weren’t sure they’re going to be able to help us or not. We had some guys uptick that I feel better about playing in this first game. And then secondly, you want your schemes, you know, each phase to continue to come together and be closer to game ready. And I think we took steps that way. So those are the two biggest areas where I think we helped ourselves over the last couple of weeks.”
Any guys specifically? Is it younger guys that you brought in that you’re hopeful can help you?
“Yeah, it’s a combination of guys. It’s some transfer guys that we’re still figuring it out a little bit. It’s some guys that were nicked up, they didn’t have enough reps for you to feel good about the camp. There’s some freshmen that have come on. It’s just easy to coach when guys make plays practice after practice, they keep showing up. It’s like you don’t have to hit us on the head. If you’re a good player, you got a chance go help us. So we’ve had some of that happen.”
Looking at the depth chart you guys put out, some of the biggest surprises might be on the offensive line with Tomas (Rimac) at left guard. He had been working at right tackle previously. Montavious (Cunningham) at right tackle. What did you like about those spots for those guys specifically?
“Yeah, we’re still working through the best five and where they play. Tomas has a ton of snaps at guard, and that was a factor in things. I like what he’s done at tackle, but I also like what Montavious has done out there. He’s got a ton of snaps at tackle, so we got flexibility in that front five. Where we have to continue to build depth is after (Jaden) Muskrat and after Brody Meadows, we got a bunch of younger guys that we need to have come on and they’re getting better. They’re just not where they need to be quite yet.”
You’ve got Takye Heath on the top line, looks like at slot receiver. What has he done this preseason?
“Yeah, I’m very proud of Takye right now. He’s a guy that, at times, quite honestly, wasn’t sure he was gonna make it. He felt that way. I felt that way. But we’ve hung in there with one another, and Coach (Fontel) Mines and Coach (Cam) Phillips have done a great job with him. He’s had his absolute best cycle since we’ve been here. He’s always been talented. He just couldn’t put it together one phase after another, or he’d have a couple of good weeks and then have a setback, physically, emotionally, academically, whatever it may be, injury. And he put together a really nice camp, and he’s earned the right to be listed as a starter there.”
When we talked to Mines on Friday, he said there’s nobody else with a body type like Heath on the roster. Is there stuff that he does that is not repeatable in that room, or something that’s tough to duplicate?
“He’s one of those quick, fast guys. Good ball skills. He’s elusive. He’s confident. As a defensive play caller, you try and match somebody up on that slot that could play him man to man and place him underneath coverage in that area. It’s hard to do with him. He’s very shifty. He’s got quick feet. He’s got a nice way about being elusive and running his routes. He’s still not very big. I worry about that. Sometimes he’s not a big guy. He’s put some weight on, he’s gotten stronger, but he needs another cycle of investing in this thing, and I’m excited about the year he can have for us.”
No matter what you choose to do with Woodson, the fact that you guys got (Michael) Short and (Antwone) Santiago in the offseason. How much has their development grown to where you feel comfortable putting them out there depending on what the rotation looks like?
“Yeah, thanks for asking, because, let me tell you, I’m pleased with the depth at that position. It was a big area of concern going into the transfer portal. You had Caleb, you had (Jaden Keller). To go out and first of all, take an outside backer in Caleb Spencer, who really had played a lot of safety in his career, played outside backer for us, move him in, have him learn that to provide depth as well. And then we were hoping to go out there and get a inside linebacker to compliment him. So we’re recruiting Santiago, we’re recruiting Michael short, and we just stayed hard on both of them in hopes we’d get one, and we got both. And it’s a credit to Coach (Xavier) Adibi, Coach (Sam) Siefkes, relentless recruitment. Those guys have come in and gotten better each and every mini camp, which is what they needed to do. They weren’t ready when they got here. But they’re both talented in their own way. I think those two, coupled with Caleb Spencer, I feel good about our depth there.”
It looks like Caleb Brown and Dante (Lovett) battling for the starting role at one cornerback spot. Caleb, another guy you brought in over the offseason, has a ton of snaps from his previous stops. Is he someone where you like the fact that he’s got that many snaps and can provide some like a security blanket there on one side?
“Yeah, I think again, you look at the transfers we brought in, they don’t have experience here, but a bunch of them have a lot of snaps at other places. Ben Bell, Tomas, Caleb Brown, (Isaiah Brown-Murray). And experience, there’s no substitute for it. So I do feel good about what he’s doing right now. It’s a coin flip with him and Dante. I see them probably playing about equal time, but they both came on down the stretch. Caleb was pretty raw. Took a little bit to kind of start showing up and doing things the right way, out there on the field. And then Dante started slow in camp and has really come on. He’s made some some really nice takeaways over the last couple mini camps. So I feel good about where those guys are. And obviously, they get to go out and do it on a big stage against some really good folks.”
Last time we talked, Terrion Stewart was dealing with an injury. How do you feel about the work he’s put in since then to get him ready for Sunday?
“Yeah, we’ve got a little bit of traction. I think this week will be really important for him. I don’t want to rush him out there if he’s not ready. He’s had what I would say is an average camp, and I wish we felt a little better about it. But if he could amp it up and and have a great week, then we could roll him out there. He’s certainly talented. I’m excited about what he brings to our program. It’s just, is he ready for us to go win with him right now?”
You said you’re looking for three running backs. It seems like there’s still maybe some question marks of who that third guy will be. What are you looking for out of that next group to step up?
“They all just bring a little something different. I think right now, (Marcellous) Hawkins and Terrion are probably separated a little bit from the others. But then it’s what P.J. (Prioleau) brings in the perimeter, and (Jeremiah) Coney is a model of consistency and can do it all at a pretty decent level. Tyler Mason, at times, looks like the best one. And then there’ll be a play where you go, ‘Oh no.’ So it’s a good group. I’m excited about all of them. I think (Braydon) Bennett’s going to bring some value on special teams, and he’s had some nice runs in camp. So I doubt that we have the opportunity to play them all, but you’ll see at least three, if not for those guys in the ball game.”
It seems like Thomas Williams has separated himself and clearly impressed you guys. What has he done so far through camp that has made him a starter?
“He’s just gotten better all the time. If you remember his first spring, he had a shoulder issue and couldn’t practice, couldn’t do anything all the way till about mid summer. So not only had he not played much DB in high school, but he’s injured the first part of his experience here. And so it’s taken some time, but he’s one of our best workers. He’s a guy, if he gets beat on a deep ball, he bounces up, sprints right back, lines up for the next play, you know, that kind of mindset. He’s just gotten better. He had a really good camp. He was able to stay healthy. Certainly a guy that we’re going to count on and lean on heavily.”
You have a pretty formidable challenge on the other side in LaNorris sellers. What challenges does he present for you? Does he remind you of any quarterbacks you’ve faced?
“First of all, I think the hype surrounding LaNorris accurate. You watch the Clemson game, you watch the Missouri game, I mean, this guy just whether he’s throwing it and certainly doing it with his legs. He’s very hard to tackle. He’s got great field presence. He’s a great competitor, and he’s got tremendous size. He’s an impressive athlete. I remember when he was coming out, I believe he was committed somewhere else and flipped to South Carolina, and everybody was kind of curious about what type of player, what type of quarterback he was going to be. But they’ve done a great job with him. He’s pretty special guy. Obviously, we have to have a plan for him.
“They’ve got a couple of tackles that are returning. When you’ve got both your tackles back, you feel pretty good about that. They went out, they got seven or eight transfers on offense in there two deep. They’re still big in their first group and second group. They’ve got size and experience. When you have a two deep at your offensive line like that. And then they got (Rahsul Faison) cleared, which I think they had a couple other pretty good ones. This guy’s got pretty dynamic film, but then they got (Nyck) Harbor on the outside. He was a national recruit. They’ve got players everywhere, and they’ve helped themselves with some good transfers.
“So I would think their talent level is one of the best in that league. Defensively, everybody talks about (Dylan) Stewart and rightfully so. You got to have a plan for him. But on the other side, that guy’s a pretty good player too. You got to worry about him. So I think they got their safety. (DQ Smith) is one of the best I’ve seen since I’ve been at Tech on film. It’s going to be one of the better teams we’ve seen, period. So I can’t say enough about what we’re up against with this group. It’s a quality group.”
We asked you quite a bit throughout camp about safety depth. Are you going to be able to play all those guys?
“Yeah, I think that’s one thing that Sam’s done a nice job with is packaging things. And, I mean, we’re much who we were. We’re your your Virginia Tech, 4-3, 4-2, nickel, you know, got some Minnesota Vikings to us, but we’re got some packages that make sense for our personnel, which I think that’s one of the big things Sam’s brought to us. And to be able to utilize, you know, whether it’s a couple extra front guys we have, whether it’s the safety packages you’re talking about, the nickel play, I’ve watched that mature over the course of preseason camp, and I think it can be an asset for us. We have to roll in and out of things the right way and have to keep guys healthy. But I like where at with it.”
You have often mentioned situational football this preseason. Are there some specific situations where you feel much more buttoned up as a team than you have previously?
“We’ve doubled down on red zone. We’ve doubled down on two minutes before the half and before the game, and we’ve doubled down on clock management, clock timeout management. We’ve had a lot of situations throughout spring, throughout camp, a lot of discussions. When you think about how important red zone is, and you think about how important two minute is, so to spend more time, invest more time there, create more situations, more learning opportunities for our staff and our players, it made too much sense. So I do feel we’re in a better place that way.”
Last week, Virginia Tech AD Whit Babcock made a very impassioned plea to the Board of Visitors for more athletics funding, especially for football. Included in the slide presentation was a list of football investments. How much input did you have on that list? And if you were prioritizing, what would they be?
“I don’t know if I’m going to get into all that. I will say this, thanks for the question. Very appreciative of Whit, the Board of Visitors. We work like heck to be competitive, but the opportunity to double down on football and the investment there is exciting to me and energizing to a lot of folks around this football program. So I’m pleased with what I’m hearing that’s up the totem pole from me, but obviously I’m in full support.”
Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!
Category: General Sports
